As Ears To The House mentioned on Saturday, those with money are always going to prosper – no matter what the challenges within the economy. Today, we bring you another example of this – and it comes from none other than the very fashionable Dubai.

The city is known mostly for one thing nowadays – namely, having absolutely ridiculous amounts of money floating around. And to a dance music scene where whole swathes of it are struggling following the pandemic, Dubai’s money is an attractive proposition – even when the UAE’s values and dance music history aren’t exactly easy bedfellows.

Diario De Ibiza were the first to report that Dubai’s FIVE Holdings – a real estate and hospitality group launched in 2011 – have purchased a stake worth $320million in Pacha Group. FIVE Holdings will run the bulk of the business – including hotels and nightclubs, including Pacha itself.

Co-owners Trilantic Capital Partners will take over the upmarket clubbing brand Lío. Apparently, the plan is to expand this brand, opening new sites in Miami, Las Vegas and Dubai. And by some stroke of luck, all three cities have a Five Luxe Hotel in them – who, in turn, are owned by… FIVE Holdings.

So what’s persuaded Trilantic Capital Partners – who owned Pacha Group outright from 2017 – to let FIVE Holdings into the party? After all, their profits last year were 40% higher than in 2019, so it’s not like the company needed rescuing. And yes, an €18million loan from the Spanish government to see them through Covid-19 needs repaying – but that was never going to cause a problem.

Which leads us to only one conclusion – the temptation of Dubai’s money simply proved too much for them…